Methods for the quantitative measurement of wide range C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate and ammonia will enable laboratories to consolidate more of their routine workload
Three more assays are now available for routine use on Bayer Diagnostics' high-capacity Advia 1650 chemistry system, demonstrating the company's continuing commitment to menu expansion for the instrument.
The introduction of methods for the quantitative measurement of wide range C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate and ammonia will enable laboratories to consolidate more of their routine testing workload on to this highly productive random access system which operates at the rate of up to 1650 tests per hour.
The CRP assay measures the concentration of C-reactive protein in human serum and plasma.
This new assay has a particularly wide sensitivity range (0.01-16 mg/dl), eliminating the need to run two separate CRP assays, and is not subject to interference from common cross-reactants such as triglycerides, haemolysis and bilirubin.
CRP measurements are used in the diagnosis, detection and evaluation of infection, tissue injury, inflammatory disorders and associated diseases. Increases in CRP values are non-specific for a wide range of disease processes.
The lactate assay measures the concentration of lactate in plasma which can be used in assessing circulatory function and its oxygen status.
Increased concentration of lactate in the blood is an indicator or anaerobic metabolism - ie, decreased blood flow to the tissues and insufficient oxygen delivery.
In cases of severe oxygen deprivation, lactic acidosis may occur.
Lactate may therefore be used as an indicator of the severity of circulatory failure.
The ammonia method is an enzymatic assay which measures the concentration of ammonia in plasma.
Such measurements are used in assessing hepatic (liver) function and the diagnosis of Reye's syndrome.
Hepatic coma and terminal stages of cirrhosis are often indicated by elevated levels of blood ammonia.
These three new assays can be run in random access mode on the Advia 1650 system alongside all other analytes without the need to perform any special washes in order to avoid interferences.
In particular, there is no interference between the lactate and ammonia reagents, which can be a problem with other automated methods.
